A Vonnie Vines Mystery

BOOK ONE: First Murder Sometimes, right when you wrestled life into something manageable, it turned around and bit you in the ass. "Seriously?" I whispered, even though I was the only person in my vehicle. I got this. No problems. You can do it, Vonnie. The new zoom made my camera extra heavy, but I raised it to my eye and tried to find my shot again. Nothing. "What the f**k is going on?" I dropped the camera to my lap and stared at the brown-sided home on the other side of the road. I spent serious cash for this zoom lens to track my marks from a distance. It was first time out in the field and all I saw was blackness. Freaking wonderful. Quiet surrounded me. The snow had quit falling an hour ago as the sun set over the horizon. The birds slept in their nests, even if the time was only seven o'clock. January darkness hit early in Pelican Bay. Everything was calm outside my vehicle, but inside life was falling apart. With the same stubborn resilience that got me through high school PE class, I brought the camera to my eye again. Mother effer. "This better not be some sick form of foreshadowing." Completely annoyed, I pulled the camera back and forth a few more times, seeing nothing but blackness. I even remembered that sometimes I was forgetful and double checked I removed the lens cap. I did. One last view into darkness and I gave up, removing the heavy camera from my eye and staring at the one-story ranch on the north side of Pelican Bay with my best glare. My mark, a suspected cheating husband, had walked into that home three minutes earlier. If I didn't catch him in the act of infidelity, I wouldn't get my full payout, which meant living on the streets next month. Or worse. Moving back in with my parents. I cringed at the thought. No, it was a much better option to catch Jimmy Jones cheating than for me to move in with my mother, father, and perfect younger sister. I had some bitches to prove wrong and I wasn't about to give up now. I lightly tossed the camera and lens into the passenger seat of my Camaro before remembering I paid a butt load for that lens and then grabbed my red mittens from the middle console. Cold had seeped into the vehicle in the few moments I worked to get a shot, and if I had to embark out into the night, I needed as much protection against the elements as possible. Ugh. The fabric of the mittens was cold and wet. It clung to my skin and made it difficult to maneuver them over my fingers. Wonderful. Exactly what I needed. "You can do it, Vonnie. You can do this." I couldn't screw up my first proper mission and ask for help. It was too soon for me to admit defeat. I'd finally taken flight out from under Katy Kadish's wings two months earlier and opened my own detective agency, but this cheating thing was my first genuine case. I needed to prove to her, my mother, Pearl, and everyone else, including me, that I could do this. On my own. So out into the cold I went. The camera, with the lens still attached, sat quietly in the seat next to me. I gave it one last glare of annoyance and then placed my hand on the door handle, bracing for impact. "This is why you don't buy cheap s**t on the internet." As expected, no one responded to me. Which I guess is a good thing. If the camera started talking back, I'd have bigger problems than a cheating spouse. And I could not afford a therapist. I squeezed the door handle. "Gotta do this one the old fashion way and freeze my tits." Rent was due, and a girl had to do what a girl had to do to pay rent. I'd followed Jimmy from his home on the south side of Pelican Bay, and if I wasn't willing to complete the job, I needed to give up now. Vonnie Vines did not give up that easily. Seconds after I propped open the car door, the cold northern Maine air assaulted me. No other word described the feeling of being struck in the face with an icy blast of wind as it barreled in off the ocean. Just because I had to do this stakeout the old fashion way rather than in the comfort of my car with the powerful zoom lens didn't mean I planned to be outside for an extended period. No one smart stayed outside long in January. I made a mad dash across the road and into the unnamed suspect's yard while the frigid air tried to crystalize my lungs. By the time I hit the trunk of the first tree next to their driveway, I was panting. Not from exertion but cold. No lights shone in the house's front, but from my new angle, I saw it pouring out from a side room. You didn't need many lights to cheat on your wife, if those were your plans for the evening. A light flickered on in the lower level of the home, enough of it escaping from a basement window. The occupants must have gone down rather than into a bedroom. Interesting. With the snow covering the top of my shoe-I didn't wear proper boots since I didn't expect to leave my vehicle-I sprinted for one of the three cars parked in the driveway. Except right as I hit the paved section of parking, my legs slipped out from under me and my back hit the snowy ground. Umpf. "Asshole," I muttered, checking the back of my head to make sure I didn't have an injury. What jerk face didn't salt their driveway before their lover arrived? Cold seeped into my back through my thick coat and I rolled, stopping halfway to sniff the air. Pine sat heavily in the frozen winter atmosphere along with the sterility of January, but something else was there-a scent I recognized from somewhere. But what? Time wasn't on my side, so I didn't stop and give it a good inspection. I still had a cheater to uncover. I finished my roll, using my hands and knees to prop myself up before I returned to standing, this time more aware of where my feet stepped to avoid any other icy areas. My back was cold, and my ass hurt. Jimmy better not be heavy on the foreplay because I needed to snap a few incriminating pictures and be on my way before I lost a finger or a boob to the elements. "Come on, Jimmy. Don't let me down," I whispered. A bout of guilt hit me with the next blast of ocean wind. It felt wrong to be hopeful about a man's transgressions on his super cute and gracious wife. But I had bills to pay. Also, I really needed to hire a sidekick so I wasn't out in the middle of the night talking to myself. Ahead of me, a patch of concrete-or whatever they used on driveways-glistened in the moonlight and I sidestepped the bit of ice, choosing instead to lean against the car for balance. Lights flashed, a horn honked rapidly, and a siren added to the mix. "f**k me." I dove to my haunches again, trying to hide behind the vehicle and look for a better escape route. The side door to the home opened, and I fell to my back. My skin was already cold, so I barely noticed when I once again hit the freezing pavement. I rolled under the car, my already wet gloves sticking to the icy driveway as I tried to find purchase under the vehicle. On the plus side, the car hadn't been off for long, so it was actually a few degrees warmer in my hiding spot. Sometimes the small things got you through a difficult situation. "Turn off your alarm, Jimmy!" a voice yelled from the open door and he let it slam behind him before he wrenched it open again a second later as his reprimand continued. "It's Pelican Bay not New York. No one needs an alarm." A second fixture in the basement turned on, flooding the area with even more light. Jimmy closed the door behind him after he leaned out and used his remote key fob to silence the alarm. My position allowed me to watch as he made his way down a set of steps into the basement and joined two other men in the space. Double interesting. Jimmy was definitely not the man his wife thought him to be.